Based in the Cairngorms National Park, we offer guided walking, navigation courses and mountain biking both in the Cairngorm mountains and throughout the Scottish Highlands. This blog is a diary of what we've been up to, whether work or play......

Wednesday, 18 May 2016

Over the last week I have managed several days of playing on the rocks with friends, great to have got out whilst it was dry. Rain and unsettled conditions have now returned. Routes climbed include Sword of Gideon VS 4c in Applecross (a route originally soloed in the 1960s by that most prolific of Scottish climbers, Dr Tom Patey, who was also the GP in Ullapool!), Summer Isles Arete Direct VS 4c on the incomparable Stac Pollaidh north of Ullapool, and Ardverkie Wall HS 4b in the Central Highlands, which must surely be one of the best routes of its standard in the UK.

Thursday, 12 May 2016

We have been enjoying some fabulous weather over the last week, especially so on the West coast, where temperatures have been consistently some of the highest in the UK, in the mid 20s Centigrade.
At the start of the week I had a quick dash to the incomparable Torridon hills to do a mountain bike loop that has been on my list for some time. This is the classic Beinn Damph loop. Although not enormous in terms of distance, there is a good amount of tricky climbing to get done, before the final long, long blast down singletrack all the way back to Loch Torridon. The final ten minutes of descent through the sun dappled warm pine forests, rich in scent, were a fitting finale to a great day. A change back to Arctic northerly air streams tomorrow, so forecast to be much colder, albeit still dry!

Fantastic singletrack riding, fantastic views

Good spot for a break

And another!

A pause for breath during the helter-skelter descent. Beinn Alligin looking magnificent across Loch Torridon